Grover's Story
by Xein of Nethling
Summary: This is basically the Percy Jackson series written from Grover's point of view. Please read and comment!
1. I Find A HalfBlood

I trotted nervously over to my desk and slid into the seat, trying my very hardest not to draw attention to myself.

Yeah, I said trotted.

You see, I'm not a human like the rest of you. I'm a satyr called Grover that has the job of searching for potential campers at Camp Half-Blood. Camp Half-Blood isn't a normal summer camp. You can't sign up for it and pay money to get in. This is a camp where only your bloodline matters, but it's not a camp for rich kids either.

It's the camp for the children of the gods. Half-bloods, heroes, call them what you will, but they all are the same thing—the sons and daughters of the Greek gods, like Zeus and Poseidon and Hades.

So, I, Grover the satyr, am assigned as a searcher to look for people that could possibly be a half-blood.

Hey, I know it sounds tough. I mean, millions of kids in the world, and I have to find a half-blood? Well, it's not as hard as it sounds. I mean, sure, I've been through hundreds of schools with no luck. I've had years pass without finding even one. But I, as a satyr, have it easier than most. My senses are tuned to that of immortals. I can, well, sort of _smell _half-bloods and monsters.

I know it sounds gross. To tell you the truth, it _is _kind of gross. I mean, you'd be totally surprised about how _bad _regular mortals smell. Somewhere between dead fish and the dump and moldy cheese and a clogged toilet…

Anyways, I'm getting off topic. So, here I was, first day at school at a private school called Yancy Academy in New York. I was supposed to sniff out every student here, and then if no luck leave and try the next one.

So, I trotted over to my assigned desk. Once I sat down, I took a deep breath in, taking in all of the scents, and nearly gagged. The guy sitting next to me had an overpowering smell of someone who hadn't showered for a month. And that was just the mortal smell; I don't think I _can _go into a description of how horrible it was for me.

I continued smelling, but I couldn't catch any whiffs of the half-blood scent in this class. And so I was stuck sitting next to mister smelly listening to a teacher drone on about algebra.

Now, I could almost kick myself for my stupidity, for not noticing right then and there that something was wrong. Even as a satyr, I was too incompetent to smell the scent that the teacher carried on her. The scent of a monster.

The rest of the day dragged by, and I had suspicions about a few of the kids. They smelled faintly of a half-blood, but I couldn't quite be sure. Either they were all minor half-bloods, or they had been in contact with an extremely powerful one, who had left a trace of his scent on them. I decided to just keep my low profile and not approach them.

It was lunchtime before anything remotely interesting happened. I entered the cafeteria, and then, boy, the smell hit me.

Enchiladas.

I hauled goat butt over there as fast as I could, grabbed an enchilada, and started scarfing it down. This was paradise for me. Who couldn't just love enchiladas? They were the best things invented since tin cans.

As I was in heaven, eating my delicious lunch, a chubby, snobby looking girl with blonde hair sauntered over and then dumped her milk carton on my head.

"Oops!" she sneered sarcastically, giving me the evil smile. I felt anger boiling in the pit of my stomach, but I forced it down. To regular mortals, I looked like a runty kid with a weird limp. And that's whom I needed to act like, despite the fact that I could totally _murder_ them if I wanted to.

So, I just sat there and whimpered like I was terrified, milk dripping back off of my hair and down my back.

The girl turned to some of her friends, said something to them, and pointed at me. Then they all started laughing. I felt my face flush with anger; I hoped that they took it for embarrassment.

Suddenly, a boy with shaggy black hair and a rebellious look pushed through the crowd. "Lay off!" he told them angrily. I felt like I recognized him for some reason, but I didn't know why. As he approached me, it suddenly all made sense.

He had a really bad smell around him, like that of someone that spends all their days slouching on a couch watching TV. But it wasn't _his _smell, it was almost like an overpowering _trace _of a smell. However, underneath, there was a different smell. The scent was both good and bad. The good part was the salt and wind and rain. The bad parts were that immediately, a feeling of an upset stomach washed over me, although I couldn't tell why. And he smelled sort of like horse manure.

He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Percy Jackson," he said.

I took it hesitantly and said, "I'm Grover. Grover Underwood."

"Can I eat with you?"

"Um, sure," I replied, trying to act nervous although I was bursting with excitement. _I had found one! _And even better, I was becoming friends with him. It was all perfect. However, I was nervous, too. I _had _to do this right this time. The last time I had found a half-blood, well, let's just say I failed miserably. _And _it was sort of an important mission. Seeing as this one was important as well, I just _couldn't _fail. I'll leave it at that.

I added one more sentence just to do my part properly. "I hope you don't mind all of the bullies wandering over here. I seem to attract them."

He gave me a grin. "Don't worry, I don't mind bullies. I can handle them."

And that's how I met Percy Jackson. It was just the beginning of our story, though.

**------------------------------**

**Please R&R! I hope you like the introduction. Tell me if I should add more parts with Nancy Bobofit or if I should leave them out. I'll try to make next chapter a little more interesting. Thanks for reading!**


	2. I Eat A Bed

Chapter 2

"O goddess, accept my offering," I whispered as I threw a large golden drachma into the cascading fountain. As it disappeared through the curtain of falling water, I said, "Chiron at Camp Half-blood!"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the glistening water droplets shimmered and suddenly I was looking at a palomino centaur holding an ancient longbow. He looked at me in surprise.

"Grover!" he said. "It's good to hear from you. What's happening?"

I looked both ways to make sure no one was listening, and then said in a low, urgent voice, "Sir, I found one! His name is Percy Jackson. I'm not sure who his immortal parent is, but it's his father and he's powerful."

The centaur's face turned grave. "Are there any monsters in the school?"

"I don't think so. But you know, monsters are hard to smell, especially when there's lots of mortals around."

Chiron sucked in a deep breath. "I would normally have you bring him straight here. But because there are no monsters…" he hesitated, and then said, "I'll come in a week or so. Keep a close eye on him."

I nodded once, and he waved a hand across the water droplets, breaking our connection. I started back towards the school, and walked into the office. "Um, madam?" I questioned hesitantly to the woman typing busily on her computer.

Without looking up, she said, "Yes?"

It was then that I realized I didn't have a plan. Oh well. Winging it will have to do. I randomly began.

"Oh my gosh! My room smells _terrible! _I think someone barfed in there! And the bunk is all shredded to pieces! I need a new room right _now! _And if I were you, I would give me a pretty nice one unless you want me to complain to my parents," I ended dramatically, feeling pretty proud of myself.

She gave me a bored look, as if she got this all the time, and said, "All right, I'll get you moved into a new room. Come here and choose it."

She brought me over to her computer screen to a map of the dorms. I pointed to the one next to the room with the name "Percy Jackson" as a label. "I'll take that one."

She nodded briefly and typed my name into that room. "Well, Grover, I'll have the janitor come and help you move all of your stuff. He'll be up in about five minutes."

I thanked and quickly ran off to the room. I had work to do, seeing as the room I was currently staying in was perfectly fine. What had I said was wrong with it again? Oh yeah. The bed was in shreds. How the heck was I supposed to do _that_?

Oh. Right.

I guess it's a good thing that satyrs can eat furniture. By the time the janitor got to my room, it was completely demolished.

He looked at me, mildly impressed. "Wow, you can eat a lot for a satyr!"

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna get a stomachache sometime soon," I moaned, stifling a burp. "You have no idea… wait a minute. Who _are _you?"

The man chuckled, and said, "I've come to bring you a message." He lifted his sunglasses, and I saw an elfish face.

"Hermes?" I said incredulously.

"Yes, of course," he said impatiently. "Now, about your message, the Council of Cloven Elders wish for me to remind you of last time and how you failed, and if you don't succeed this time, you don't have any more second chances. But no pressure," he added cheerfully. I scowled at him.

"What did you do with the real janitor?" I asked.

"Oh, I locked him in a broom closet somewhere."

"What!" I yelped. "How will he get out?"

Hermes waved a hand dismissively. "Someone will eventually open it. Don't worry."

I decided not to argue anymore. He was a god, after all.


	3. A Centaur Becomes My History Teacher

Chapter 3

Two mornings later, I woke up to the rude, loud buzzing chatter of my radio alarm. I groaned and hit it off, and then rolled back over to go back to sleep. Why had I turned on my alarm for five o'clock in the morning anyways?

I was just drifting back into darkness when my eyes snapped open. _Holy enchiladas! _I thought to myself. I was supposed to meet Chiron this morning down at the office! He was going to take over the history class.

I quickly got out of bed and trotted as fast as my furry hindquarters would carry me down to the grounds. I hoped nobody bothered to look out of the window. They might've freaked out at seeing a boy with a goat butt and hooves. I don't know though, you get some strange people here in New York.

Anyways, I finally made out to the grassy lawns and found Chiron waiting for me, in his human form. Whenever he needed to be human, he compacted his horse body into a wheelchair. It looked sort of stupid, but I wouldn't laugh at him if I were you. He gets pretty touchy about his tail getting messed up, especially right after he's curled it all nice and pretty.

"Grover! It's good to see you," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Same to you, sir," I said.

"So, I assume you've already been informed that I will now be teaching history class, right?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "I suppose it'll be pretty easy for you, too," I joked.

He smiled at that. "Yes, when you've lived through history, it's fairly easy to teach. I think I'll focus on Greece."

I grinned back at him, and then said, "So, what will your temporary name be?"

"Same as always," he said, "Mr. Brunner. Anyways, I'd best get settled in, but I'll see you in history."

* * *

All of the students filed into the history classroom later that day. There were mutters all around of "Whoa!" and "What the…" and "Wait, where did the other teacher dude go?"

The classroom had been completely transformed. All around the place there were steles and marble busts and medieval weapons hanging on the wall. The floor was covered in hard-packed dirt, and instead of desks there were rocks. It had been transformed into, well, live history.

And in the front stood, or I should say sat, Chiron.

He gave me a small, acknowledging warning, his eyes warning me not to show that I knew him. I struggled to look surprised. "Who the heck is he?" Percy muttered to me.

"I dunno." I shrugged. "New teacher, I guess."

He looked at me, his face unreadable, giving the random impression of the ocean on a calm day. He then flashed me a grin and said happily, "Well, at least this looks a bit more interesting that your everyday history class."

I agreed with him, although my mind was on other things. The biggest thing I was thinking about was his heritage. Who could his father be? I ran through the gods in my head. Hermes—no, his face was too broad; he was more of a muscle person than a runner. Ares—no, he wasn't big or buff enough, and besides, why would he have saved me from that ugly blonde girl that poured her milk on my head? Dionysus—well, he didn't really look like a drunkard to me. It couldn't be Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades since they all swore not to have kids. He also didn't look big enough to be a son of Hephaestus.

This left me with Apollo. He _could _be… I mean, it sort of fit. And it was the only god left. Yes, he was probably the son of Apollo.

Percy looked up to see my scrutinizing look, and I quickly pretended to be gawking at the classroom like the rest of the students. I was sure he suspected something, though.

"Settle down, class!" Chiron called from the head of the classroom. "Sit down at any open rock."

The noise quieted as the students all sat down, eager to hear what this strange teacher had to say.

"I am your new history teacher," he began, "and I will…"

The ugly blonde girl interrupted him with a high-pitched, snobby voice, "Sir, what happened to our other history teacher?"

Chiron slowly turned to look at her. "If he did not discuss it with you, then it is most likely a private matter that he did not wish to discuss with you. What is your name?"

The girl flushed bright red, and then said in an indignant voice, "Nancy Bobofit, sir."

Chiron raised an eyebrow and turned back to the rest of the class. "Well, as I was saying before your classmate miss Bobofit interrupted, which, I have to mention, will not be tolerated, I am your new history teacher. We will be focusing on Greek history, although we will venture into some Roman history. My name is Mr. Brunner. Are there any questions so far?"

Nobody spoke out. Chiron clasped his hands together and said, "Well, then, lets see how much you already know about history. Who can name one of the Greek gods?"

Nobody answered.

"Nobody?" He glanced at his seating chart. "How about Percy Jackson? Do you know of any?"

I felt Percy stiffen next to me. _Why me? _I could tell he was thinking. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that to you. Satyrs can sort of read peoples emotions and general thoughts. It can come in handy sometimes.

Percy mumbled something about Zeus and Hades and Poseidon. Chiron looked rather disappointed. I could tell he was thinking about how no one knew about the gods anymore.

I rather agreed with him. It was sad how little faith the humans had in the gods. The gods had given them life and hope, and a purpose. And now the humans are throwing all of that away. They forget about the gods and us monsters. Half-bloods are always complaining about how the gods never help them. What they don't realize is that they don't care at all for the gods or us monsters at all either. This isn't a one-way rivalry.

Take Pan, for instance. He was the great god of the wild places, and the father of all satyrs. He let life flourish and the world wallow in beauty. But then the stupid humans had to come along and cut down entire forests, and destroy the wild. They don't realize how selfish they are; they destroyed an entire _kingdom_.

I let out a sigh, and Percy looked at me like I was being strange. "Sorry, just thinking to myself," I said.

"Grover, would you like to share what you were saying to the rest of the class?" Chiron asked, an eyebrow raised.

I gulped. "Um, I was just telling Percy sorry for stepping on his foot. I accidentally stepped on his foot. And yeah…" I trailed off lamely, feeling my face flush with embarrassment. I saw Nancy Bobofit whisper something to one of her friends, and then shot me an ugly smirk. Her friends tried to smother their giggles.

Chiron looked up at the clock as the bell rang. "That's all for today. Tomorrow I expect you to be here, in your seats, on time. Nancy and Grover, I would like to speak to you. The rest of you are dismissed."

Percy gave me a sympathetic look. "Do you want me to wait?" he offered.

I chewed on my lip, debating. If he went, he might get into trouble or something. But I couldn't look after him every second, and if he stayed he might overhear something. "Naw, man. Go on ahead. I'll meet you in the dorms tonight. Thanks, though."

He nodded and then followed the rest of the class uneasily out of the door. I could tell he was deep in thought. Something about not wanting to get kicked out of this school like the rest of them. I should probably mention to you that most half-bloods have ADHD and dyslexia, and usually get expelled from most of their schools.

I sighed, hoping he wouldn't get into any trouble, and then turned back to where Chiron was lecturing Nancy Bobofit about rudeness. I couldn't help but to smirk behind her back. When Chiron finally finished and let her go to her next class, he beckoned me closer.

"So, what do you think about him?" Chiron asked.

I hesitated. "I think I might have an idea about who his father is," I said, and then told him my theory. He listened intently, and when I finished, his eyes looked distant.

"Apollo," he muttered to himself. "It could be…"

He then turned back to me. "We must contact his mother and tell her that we have found him and are watching over him. You'd better hurry to your next class so you're not late. I'll meanwhile try to get your schedule changed so that you share all your classes with Percy."

"Okay," I said, and then, reluctantly left the centaur and returned to the world of humans.


	4. My Best Friend Slips On A Banana Peel

**Hey guys! I'm _soooooo _sorry that this took me so long! I've been really busy the past few weeks. I hope that you guys like this chapter! Sorry again.**

**By the way, special thanks to sififantasygirl, Zoe Nightshade, creamsoda92, Jake the Drake, daughterofartemis, xXxWithinTemptationxXx, Heavy Metal Freak, gab4eva24, and Drishti Choudhury for reviewing! You guys make my day! =D**

**--------------------------------------------------**

I hesitated, my fingers hovering over the "call button". What would I say? Did she _know _that her son was a demigod? Would she _want _to know?

After one more moment of hesitation, I pushed it in and took a deep breath as a ringing sound came on. She was his mom; she had a right to know.

_Rrrriing! Rriing! Click. _"Yeah, what is it, Eddy?" a rude, sneering voice came on the line.

"Um..." I said, caught off guard and desperately thinking up a story, "this isn't Eddy. My name is Grover, and I'm from Yancy Academy. May I speak to Mrs. Jackson, please?"

I could almost imagine a huge, fat guy at the other end of the line scrutinizing the phone. I had a feeling that the guy had put it on speaker; either that or he had ESPN on an absurdly high volume. I could hear the commentator say something about a football player getting banned because steroids fell out of his butt during a game. Interesting.

Finally, the voice on the other end spoke again. "What do you want? Sally's not home right now. If you're calling about the punk- I mean, Percy, you talk to _me _about it. I'm his father."

_His father? _That didn't sound right. Unless she had gotten a new husband... some do that. But why would Percy's mom, a perfectly decent person (or at least I assume she was decent, seeing as one of the gods had fallen for her), marry this rude jerk?

I said in what I hoped was an authoritative voice, "Um, can you tell me when she gets home? I need to talk to her about, uh, mom stuff." _Um? Uh? Mom stuff? _I guess I wasn't doing a very good job on the authoritative part.

Another silence. Boy, this guy was a slow thinker. Suddenly, I got a whiff of a smell, and gagged. It was seriously nasty. And even weirder, it was coming _out of the phone._ No, it wasn't quite like the phone smelled, it was more as if a scent had _radiated through it._ That guy must've not have showered for years. But I had smelled that scent before, I knew it. It wasn't a monster; the smell was more repulsive, not evil. But then what did I know it from?

It hit me. Percy. He was in sixth grade, and still hadn't been seriously attacked by any monsters. That scent that was covering up his half-blood scent--it was the same as this. Mr. Smelly had been covering up his godly scent for years. My opinion of Sally Jackson was restored. In fact, it increased. She was one smart lady.

"Call back at five. That's when she gets home," Mr. Smelly said. I flinched so hard that I dropped the phone, and then yelped as it ran into my hoof. _Shoot! _I had completely forgotten that the guy was still on the phone. I picked the phone back up and said, "Okay, thanks for your help. Bye."

I heard a click on the other end of the line without another word. I was starting to like this guy less and less by the second. "Bye to you too," I muttered bad-temperedly.

At that exact moment, Percy burst into the room and flopped onto his bed. Yeah, I definitely smelt the same smell, and only faintly under was his half-blood one.

"What's up?" I said easy-goingly.

"I...am...going...to..._murder_... Nacy Bobofit!" he said, punching the pillow as he said 'murder'. I was about to say, _Don't murder the pillow as well_, but I thought the better of it.

I pushed my thoughts to touch his. I couldn't get much through the wave of anger roaring in his head, but _oh. Ouch. _That must've hurt.

"Yeah, she is a jerk," I told him. "Are you okay?"

He took a deep breath to calm himself. I was surprised that he had that much self-control. Most half-bloods would be out there pulverising Nancy if she had made _them _trip on a banana peel and fall down a flight of stairs.

"Yeah," he said, and then rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. I tried to read his expression, but I couldn't. And his thoughts were too deep for me to read; it was as if he had sealed himself inside his head.

I gave up after a few seconds of trying to understand him, and then gave a contented sigh and fell asleep.

--------------------------------------------------

A hand shook me. "Um, Grover?"

I blinked my eyes open. "What?" I said sleepily.

"Um, you just fell asleep. We still have evening classes. It's only, like, three in the afternoon right now."

_Ah! _He was right. "Oh my gosh, sorry! Thanks for waking me up!" I started chewing nervously at the tin can I always kept in my pocket, and then froze as I noticed Percy staring at me. I threw it in the trash.

"Uh, your welcome. Why were you just chewing on a soda can?"

"Um, ah, well you see, I have this muscular disorder in my legs and when I get worked up they hurt, and I chew on things when I'm in pain, so.... yeah."

He looked like he didn't believe me. My ears started to turn pink, and so I muttered, "C'mon, we'd better get down to science class."

--------------------------------------------------

I trotted out of PE as fast as I could, and rushed to Chiron's room. You don't know how _boring _it is to go through a bunch of stretches and exercises designed for kids with muscular disorders when you don't even _have _the muscular disorder everyone thinks you do. And anyways, it was almost six, and I was supposed to call Mrs. Jackson an hour ago.

I rounded the corner and ran right into Nancy Bobofit and her giggling friends. Like, literally, me and another girl ended up on our butts, on the floor. My face started to turn red.

"What was that for?" the girl sitting on the ground across from me sniffled angrily. "You just ruined my pants!" She then burst out sobbing. It was obviously fake, but the noise drew the teacher out of the nearest classroom.

Luckily for me, it was Chiron. "What do we have here?" he said, one eyebrow raised.

"Grover pushed me!" the girl on the ground wailed. I was about to ask why I was on the ground then, but I realized I was standing. Oops. I guess I shouldn't have gotten up.

Chiron looked at the girl and then at me, and said, "Grover, I need to talk to you in my classroom. Come with me."

He then wheeled his chair into the ancient classical room, and, right before I followed, I glanced at Nancy Bobofits sneer. _Busted, _she was thinking, wishing I could hear her thoughts.

Unfortunately, I could.


	5. I Call A Wrong Number And Get Yelled At

"Grover, you really have to try and not get into so much trouble," Chiron sighed once the door was closed.

I threw my hands into the air. "It's not _my _fault that some idiot girl is out to get me. What do you want me to do differently?"

Chiron just shook his head and said, "Just be careful, Grover. Things could turn out badly if you continue to make enemies. Now, what were you coming to see me for?"

I stared at him. "How did you know I was coming to see you?"

He gave me a funny look. "Why else would you be coming this way? Grover, I'm thousands of years old. I know things."

"True," I admitted. "Anyways, yeah I needed to borrow your phone. To call his mom. You know, and tell her."

Chiron cocked his head. I could tell he was surprised to realise that he thought I was growing to be a fine young satyr. "Well thanks for the compliment," I muttered.

"Your welcome," he replied, his eyes twinkling. "Do you mind if I get out of this ridiculous prop?" he asked, gesturing to the wheelchair.

"Uh, sure," I said, and then turned back to the phone and punched in the number. I waited as the phone rang.

_Click. _"Who is it?" a cranky woman's voice said. Geesh, maybe Sally Jackson wasn't as cool as I thought.

"Hi, I'm calling from Yancy Academy. My name is Grover."

"If you're asking for donations, I'm not giving any," the voice pouted.

"No! I'm calling about your son," I stammered.

"Oh." There was a pause. "What about him?"

"Well, you see, you already know he's a half-blood. I think that you might want to know that we're at his school, keeping tabs on him, and I think that we should send him to Camp Half-Blood. It's the only place that's safe for him, away from monsters. Otherwise they might come for him."

"WHAT?!" the woman screeched. "Who are you stalkers, stalking my son! And I'm not sending George off to some asylum! Yeah, his grades might not be perfect, but he's not crazy, and he does NOT have monsters in his head!" The connection clicked off. I stared at the phone, stunned.

"What happened?" Chiron asked.

I pondered that for a moment. I wasn't sure. _Wait a minute... _I thought. _That lady had called her son George!_

I glanced back at Chiron. "Wrong number," I said sheepishly. Chiron rolled his eyes.

"Be _careful,_ my young satyr. That could've been a monster on the other line."

_That woman was a monster, all right. _I thought, grimacing at the memory in embarrasment.

"Okay, let me try that again," I said, and this time _carefully_ pushed the numbers. The phone rang once and then someone picked up.

"Hello?" Good, this voice sounded friendlier.

"Hi, I'm calling from Yancy Academy. My name is Grover. Is this Mrs. Jackson?"

"Yes, it is. Is Percy alright?" the woman's voice sounded worried.

"Um, yes," I said. I glanced at Chiron for help. He gave an encouraging nod. "Okay, you know Percy's father?"

"Oh." Mrs. Jackson sounded stunned. "You're from Camp Half-Blood, aren't you?"

I gulped. This lady _was _smart. "Yeah, I am. Do you know, well, everything."

"Pretty much."

"Okay," I said. This made my job a lot easier. "Well, then, I'm just calling to let you know that I'm watching Percy. I'm his roommate. And Chiron's here too, helping me."

"Wait, are you another half-blood?" Mrs. Jackson asked, her voice confused.

"Um, no," I said. "I'm a satyr. And Chiron's a centaur. But if you ever talk to Percy about him, call him Mr. Brunner. He's trying to go incognito."

Chiron snorted from somewhere behind my.

"Then Chiron is...." Mrs. Jackson let out a deep breath. "Wow. Okay, thank you for your help. But, please," she said, hesitating, "don't send him to camp. Not yet. Just wait until the end of this year, and then you can. But let him have one more year of being happy."

"Mrs. Jackson," I said gently, "that one more year of being happy is also one more year of ignorance, one more year of having the chance of being attacked by monsters. He could die in that one year."

"I thought that you and Chiron are there to stop that from happening," she said.

"Yes, well, there are... complications. Poseidon and Zeus are fighting. Zeus' master bolt has been stolen from Olympus, and he thinks that Poseidon stole it. And, Mrs. Jackson, you know what god fights are like."

"The Trojan War?" she asked.

"Yeah, except consider this. The Trojan War was between three goddesses, over an apple. This war would be between the two _most powerful_ gods on Olympus, over the _most powerful weapon_ to ever exist. Tensions are higher than ever right now, and monsters are active. They _will _come for your son if he doesn't come to camp. And if enough come, Chiron and I won't be able to stop them."

Silence on the other end. And then, "Please, understand. I'm his mother. I just want what's best for him. I promise I won't argue if you want him to go the camp after the end of this year. But he's too young right now. He's not ready to be told that he's the son of a god."

I looked at Chiron helplessly. He grimaced, and then thought to me, _Don't argue. We'll manage somehow._

I sighed. "Alright, Mrs. Jackson. We'll do it your way. And I'll call back every once in a while. Don't worry, we'll keep him safe."

She let out a shaky breath. "Thank you so much, Grover. You don't know how much this means to me. Well, bye for now."

"Bye."

I turned to Chiron; his expression was questioning.

"She knows everything. But he's not going to camp until the end of the year."

Chiron gripped his bow, looking worried. "And that's how they all die," he whispered to himself. I still heard, though.


	6. A Smell Freaks Me Out

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a little different and harder for me because it hasn't actually happened in the book, so I'm sorta making it up. But I hope you think its good anyways! **

**Also, special thanks to sififantasygirl, Zoe Nightshade, creamsoda92, Jake the Drake, daughterofartemis, xXxWithinTemptationxXx, Heavy Metal Freak, gab4eva24, Drishti Choudhury, bluewaffles621, and Toa Percy Jackson! You guys are my awesomeful reviewers and totally rock!**

**Oh yeah, and by the way, I hope you guys all read the last book! OMG it was awesome! Read it if you haven't. =D**

**--------------------------------------------------**

It was several weeks later until anything particularly interesting happened. For the end-of-the-quarter celebration, our teachers were taking us on a special field trip to the beach. I'm not sure about the rest of the kids, because they all looked pretty psyched about it, but I was on the verge of staying in the dorm pretending to be sick.

See, all satyrs have something against oceans. Way down deep, next door to Poseidon's palace, is the forge of the Cyclopes. And Cyclopes, well, let's just say they don't really mix with satyrs. Besides, I can't swim very well. Sometime try sticking a metal can to you foot and then swimming. It's not as easy as it looks.

On the other hand, I couldn't let Percy go without me. Chiron wasn't going since he was stuck in a wheelchair and the teachers were convinced that wheelchairs can't go on sand. If a monster attacked, he would need me there. And with just one look at Percy I could tell he wasn't going to give up a chance of a break in school just because his best friend was scared of the water.

And so, here I was, boarding a stinky bus with a bunch of kids in bathing suits. As soon as I got in, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Hey!" a kid yelped indignantly as he crashed into me and fell back down the stairs. I couldn't turn around, I couldn't breathe. That smell... so terrible, I was paralyzed where I was, staring into the glowing pair of eyes of--

Right then, a redheaded girl pushed me over. "Move, slimeball!" she sneered, and kicked me.

I yelped and scrambled to my feet. Glancing back behind me, I tried to look back at that front seat, but Nancy Bobofit was in my way. Obviously, she thought the stricken look on my face was aimed for her.

"Scared, wimp?" she laughed. I just stood there, shivering in fear for a few seconds, and then shuffled along to an empty pair of seats. I pressed as far against the window as I could and closed my eyes, trying to slow down my fluttering heartbeat. Cold sweat trickled down the ridges of my spine, and my horns began to ache. The smell of sunblock seemed to suffocate me; I breathed in deeply through my mouth, trying to soak in the horrible smell of the chemically sunblock. Better that than the other one.

Percy slid into the seat beside me. "Are you okay, man?" he asked. I glanced up at him.

"Yeah," I said, still shaking, "I'm fine." I could feel his questioning gaze, and his thoughts full of concern. I stared out of the window, lost in memories. I recognized the smell on the beginning of the bus from a long time ago, a time that I hoped never to think of again, and yet I did constantly. A time of fear and loss, my greatest failure.

A few years ago, I was supposed to go and rescue three half-bloods: Annabeth, the seven-year-old daughter of Athena, Luke, the 10-year-old son of Hermes, and Thalia- the 12-year-old daughter of Zeus. Actually, I was supposed to rescue Thalia. I had strict orders- bring back Thalia. Try and save the others, but Thalia is our only hope and she _must_ live.

Well, lets just say I did the opposite. We were _so close. _We were running up the hill to the border of Camp Half-Blood. We would've been safe there. But then we got surrounded by monsters, and had no way out. Thalia knew this. She sacrificed her life to get us safely across the border. And the worst monster there, the lead Fury Alecto, had led that army. I would never forget her smell. I never would've wanted to smell her again. And yet...

...she was here. "Grover, seriously man. What's up with you? You look like you just met your worst nightmare or something," Percy interrupted my thoughts.

I smiled wryly. _Yeah, something like that, _I thought. "It's just," I struggled to think of something to say.

Percy watched me intently, waiting for an answer. That was the problems with half-bloods. They wanted answers. "I don't like Mrs. Dodds. She scares me," I finished.

Luckily, he seemed to believe me. I guess that he doesn't really like teachers either. And besides, I was supposed to look sort of runty and scared of everything. I was obviously doing my job pretty well.

We talked about a bunch of stuff for the next twenty minutes, mostly his family. I decided not to mention I had already talked to his mom. That might freak him out a little.

When I asked about his dad, he stiffened visibly. "My dad and mom were never married," he said. "Right after I was born, my dad went on a sailing trip." He looked out of the windown the gently waving sea. His voice cracking, he said, "He never came back."

I stared at him. That seemed like a pretty lame story for Apollo. I was expecting something a bit more... poetic from him. But then, I guess it was a good thing that it wasn't. I'd met Apollo before and, well, lets just say that I think the human poets had made their poetry a bit _better _than Apollo's. But don't tell him I said that.

"I'm sorry," I told him. He just focused down the aisle.

"Yeah, well, things happen. People die. It's not like I ever knew him," Percy said miserably. To tell you the truth, I felt pretty sorry for the kid even though his dad wasn't _actually _dead. It seemed so harsh that the gods had to pretend to go off and die to hide themselves from half-bloods. I mean, they would find out eventually that their parent was a god, right? So why not just tell them in the first place and raise them at camp?

In my heart, I knew that it was for their own good, to give them an experience in the real world before being singled out as a demigod. But it was still a shame anyways.

The bus screeched to a halt and the doors hissed open. A fresh breeze wafted in through the door. All of the kids cheered and looked excited. They all rushed out of the doors screaming. Soon, only two people were left on the bus: me and Percy.

I glanced at him, expecting him to look afraid or apprehensive, since his dad "died" at sea. Instead, he looked mystified and full of adrenaline. I'll never understand half-bloods.

"Well," I said, steeling my nerves to meet the realm of the Cyclopes. I put on a brave smile, "let's go have fun."

It must have been sort of obviously forced, because as we departed from the bus, I heard Percy think, _What, are you afraid of beaches as well as math teachers? _

Yeah, something like that.


	7. I Get Buried Alive

**To all of my faithful readers, thank you so much for your support! I've decided to squeeze in this chapter before I'm off on a very long and busy summer, so I'm sorry if this is the last one for a while. But it's better than nothing, right! I hope you like Grover's trip to the beach!**

* * *

I'm not a person (or satyr) to use girly phrases. But, O-M-G. This was OFFICIALLY the WORST thing I had ever done.

Let me list a few reasons why.

Firstly, now I knew that Mrs. Dodds was actually the Fury Alecto, and was after Percy. Well, at least she was after a half-blood. I doubted that she knew which student was the half-blood, or that I was a satyr. Hopefully she didn't know about Chiron either.

Secondly, Chiron wasn't here. He always seemed to make things better. Maybe it was just the fact that I would no longer be the only non-human good thing on this beach if he were here, but, you know, that's Chiron for you.

Thirdly, the fact that people take off their shoes to go on the beach. Man, try walking in sand without getting any in your shoes, it's the toughest--

"Hey, Grover!" Percy called, running out of the waves. He had been body-surfing while I watched him from the beach.

"Yeah?" I replied back, fidgeting uncomforably from all of the sand in my underpants. Have you ever heard of the expression about ants in your pants? Well, let me tell you, sand in you pants is worse.

He walked up to where I was and plopped down beside me. "Why don't you come and join us?" I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off. "C'mon! Swimming isn't _that _hard on your legs, and you have to be bored by now, sitting and watching us play." His sea-green eyes sparkled at me, and his shaggy black hair was windswept. I couldn't help but to want to join him.

I bit my lip and shook my head. "Sorry, man, but I can't. My feet, for one, would burn up on the sand. And yes, I've tried swimming before, and it just doesn't work for me." Hey, I was actually telling the truth with that last statement.

Percy considered me, and then sighed. "That's okay.... hey, I have an idea!"

"Gosh," I muttered, just quietly enough that he couldn't hear me. Heaving a sigh, I asked, "What?" I hoped that whatever it was didn't involve taking off shoes. Or pants for that matter. I didn't want to freak anyone out like last time. Let's just say at some previous school a bunch of bullies decided it would be funny to pants me. It took Chiron _months _to try and get them to forget what happened, and I'm not sure if their brains ever went back to normal after the shock.

* * *

Half an hour later, I was buried neck deep in the sand. Although I obviously refused to take my clothes off because of my lower goat body, everyone had decided that it didn't matter and I could have some fun anyways! So here I was, with almost everyone in the school snapping photos of the amazing buried boy standing around me. Basically, life sucked.

As well as this, I was buried. And buried means underground. Underground, satyrs, together... no.

"Percy, let me out!" I bleated helplessly, hoping that he wouldn't notice the goaty sound that crept into my voice when I was freaked out.

"Don't you like it in there?" he said, his eyes sparkling with a rougish playfulness.

I rolled my eyes and said, "It's _wet _in here. Wet doesn't go well with fu-" I caught myself at the last second from saying 'fur' and changed it to, "Fu-antastic people like me."

Hey, I had to come up with that in half a second. You try it sometime.

"Really?" Percy sounded surprised. "I thought that the wet felt good."

I wasn't really paying attention, though; I was too busy watching Mrs. Dodds. She was standing nearby, supervising my burial. And for a second, my annoyed feelings of being buried was replaced by actual fear. Despite her normal sickly sweet smile and no particular focus towards me, I could smell her suspicion. I could tell that she was thinking about me.

And I could remember that night, on the hill, when she was attacking us--the leathery, vampire wings, and the horrible snarl etched into her face. I realized that of all of the monsters in the underworld, she was _the worst. _Even though she didn't have the size of the Hydra, or the poison/firebreathing of the Chimera, she had her own powers. She was designed to kill half-bloods. Her intelligence was the same, maybe higher, and everything about her was suited to kill--her claws, her fangs, her flight powers, her weapon choice-- and the fact that she could _hold _a weapon.

What surprised me, though, is that she was going in the completely wrong direction with her thoughts.

She didn't think I was a keeper. She thought that _I _was the half-blood.

* * *

**Again, I hope I can update over the summer, but I probably won't be able to. Hope you enjoyed it, please review, and a happy summer to all you peoples!**

**~Happy Writings!~**

**-Xein of Nethling**


	8. I Get Used As Bait For 3 Seconds

**Long time no see everyone... well, I'm back! Or at least I'm putting up another chapter. I've missed working on this story, and am stuck on my actual stories, so hey, I decided to give another chapter a shot. Enough with the rambling now, and onto Grover! :)**

**

* * *

**

"So... basically, to sum it all up, the worst of the Kindly Ones is at this school, after a half blood, and she thinks that it is you?"

"Yes!" I bleated helplessly, panicking. This was _not good. _

Chiron stroked his scruffy beard thoughtfully. After a few moments of me restlessly pacing back and forth, he said, "Grover, this could work to our advantage."

I stopped pacing at once. "What?! It's a _good _thing that I'm about to be eaten by Alecto?!"

Chiron looked at me, his expression half amused and half pitying. "Yes, Grover, it could be if we used this oppurtunity correctly. Think, my young satyr. She believes that you are a half blood. This will turn her attention away from Percy, the real one. If she attacks you, you will be able to defend yourself, although I think that she will not. Right now she isn't sure what to think about you, and she won't bring you to the Lord of the Dead or kill you before she knows exactly who you are."

I sighed. Sometimes I hated Chiron's plans, but I had to remember that he was old and wise beyond measure. His plan would work. One thing was bugging me, though... "Chiron, I can't _fight _a Kindly One."

Chiron considered this for a moment, and then shrugged. "You then have my permission to flee to camp. You'll make it this time."

"But--I'd be abandoning Percy then!" Abandoning your half-blood was even worse than dying for a keeper. It meant you were leaving them, defenseless. Not that I was much help or anything, but at least I could throw monsters off.

"If it came to her attacking you, then she would soon discover that you're not a half blood. She would then realize that Percy is the half-blood and go for him instead. Remember, though, that I would still be here. If worst comes to worst, I will bring him to Camp Half-blood myself."

"Okay then," I said grudgingly, not particularly enjoying being the bait for the worst monster in existence. Well, almost. But you know what I mean."

A sudden _bang _sounded and the door flew open. Chiron froze in horror, for three reasons.

a) I wasn't wearing pants.

b) He wasn't in his wheelchair.

c) The figure that stood in the doorway was Mrs. Dodds. Except that she wasn't Mrs. Dodds...

"Well, well," she hissed in surprise. "What do we have here?" Her horrible, leathery skin shimmered with a sickly light, and her pointed teeth were bared menacingly. However, her wings were tucked, so I had a good feeling that she wasn't about to fly at us. That wasn't much comfort, though.

Chiron, overcoming his surprise, stepped forwards, his bow knocked and half raised. "What do you want here, Alecto?" he asked quietly.

Her gazed flicked from Chiron to me. "Grover," she hissed, flicking her forked tongue about her lips. "It's been a long time. I did not recognize you until now. From... last time."

I shivered as she grinned evilly at me. She noticed my fear and her smile broadened.

"What is your business here?" Chiron repeated, his voice raising. "Leave, if you come only to make small talk."

Alecto turned back to him, her smile fading. "You are aware of the war?"

Chiron gave a curt nod.

Alecto continued, "Then you are also aware of the half blood at this school, and the extent of his crimes?"

Chiron frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Alecto's eyes widened. "Don't you know who the boy Percy _is?_"

Chiron raised his eyebrow. "I know that he is a half-blood that I am bound to protect. What more do you know?"

Alecto stared for another minute, and then cackled. "Well, then, Chiron, are you willing to hand him over to me? I am not at liberty to say why, though..."

(Note that, by now, I was getting really confused.)

Chiron tightened his grip on his bow and shook his head. "I am not going to give a half-blood to you and your master. Never. You will have to fight for him."

Narrowing her eyes, she unfurled her wings and snarled, "Then we are at a stale mate. I cannot best you, and you cannot best me. We will have to see what time plays out as. And... I would recommend keeping an eye on the boy." She then launched herself through the window and out into the night sky.

Chiron turned to me, looking worried. "What was that about?" I asked.

"I don't know, my young satyr. Go up to your dorm. Keep an eye on Percy. We will figure things out from there."

As I walked away, I wondered how he was going to explain the broken window.

* * *

**Sorry for making you all wait so long, but hopefully I'm back for good so you won't have to wait much anymore. Thanks for reading, everyone!**

**~Xein of Nethling**


	9. The Gods Start Fighting

**Ugh sorry again! This took forever to update. If it's taking a long time... friendly reminders are always welcome to nudge me into writing! :P I won't mind.**

**Anyway, next chapter coming right up. **

**

* * *

**

As it turns out, nothing really happened for the next few weeks. Mrs. Dodds had taken up glowering at me during class and licking her lips, which was really creepy, but she never attacked. I was pretty sure that Percy was noticing how I was always on the edge, but I couldn't be sure. And there was no way that I was telling him what was going on, especially since I had promised his mom that I would wait.

One day, though, events started picking up again. When Percy and I were walking over to Latin, somebody threw a pebble at me from behind. I yelped out loud and whirled around, preparing for an attack from either Mrs. Dodds or Nancy Bobofit. (Both could happen.) However, nobody was there. I couldn't be sure, but I thought that I heard the sound of clopping hooves in the bathroom.

"Um... Percy, I need to go to the bathroom. I'll meet you in class."

Percy glanced at me. "Okay, sure, man. I'll tell Mr. Brunner that you're here."

"Okay," I replied, although I had a feeling that Chiron wouldn't be there. I turned back around and walked down the hall until I reached the boys bathroom, which had an "Out Of Order" sign on it. Feeling slightly nervous, I pushed on the door. It was locked. I frowned, and pulled just to make sure. Still locked.

I was going to give up when I heard the clopping of hooves again. Frustrated with the door, I looked from side to side to make sure that nobody was near and then, in one huge bite, ate the door handle, lock and all. The metal tasted a little bit dirty, probably from the fact that it was a bathroom door, but this time when I pushed the door opened.

I yelped with surprise when I looked inside, and then calmed as Chiron put up his hands and hissed, "Grover, shut the door!"

I did as he asked and then turned back in disbelief. "Why in the world are you hiding in the _bathroom?_" I asked.

"My young satyr, I would rather not be in here either," Chiron replied distastefully. "However, I needed to catch you in private before leaving, and this is where Iris told me to come."

"Iris? Leaving? What's happening?"

Chiron sighed. "Apparently the gods are arguing. I asked for an audience with them, so Iris is taking me." His eyes turned fierce as he continued, "Grover, no matter what you have to protect Percy while I'm gone. It shouldn't be long, and I hope that Alecto will not discover my absence, but she may attempt something while I am not here. You are a protector, so do what you must to protect him."

"But..." my voice trailed off miserably. I felt scared, not that I would get hurt, but that I would fail. Not be able to fulfill my duty. Like... like last time.

"My young satyr," Chiron stared, his eyes soft and sad, "you will not fail this time."

I wanted to say more, like that I was pathetic and couldn't not fail, but suddenly the air shimmered and a beautiful woman stood before us. Her long, flowing hair was stranded into the colors of the rainbow and fell like water around her slim frame. The goddess's multicolored eyes sparkled as she saw me. "A satyr," she commented in a melodic voice. "Is that a wise decision, Chiron?"

Chiron instinctively strung his bow in a quick motion and turned to her. "I trust Grover."

She smiled. "Then let us go."

Chiron barely had time to raise his hand in farewell before the air shimmered once again and they disappeared in a thousand tiny droplets. My stomach sank again. I knew that I would have to keep Percy safe, though, and turned to face my fears.

"Oh, crap." I had forgotten about the door, which had a gaping hole where the handle should be. I thought for a moment, and then, not sure what else to do, grabbed a plunger from next to one of the toilets. I hoped it hadn't been used for a while. I went out into the hallway and then stuck the plunger over the hole.

It looked ridiculous, but would have to do. With a small shrug of resignation I wearily went to Latin class. When I stepped inside the room, I started in surprise. A 30-year old person with a baseball cap and baggy jeans stood in the front of the room, talking about the ancient Roman chariot races. He seemed hairier than a normal person, and when he looked at me and his face lit up in recognition, I knew who he was.

"Ah, you must be Grover. Take your seat and don't be late again. Chi-Mr. Brunner is absent today and I will be teaching the lesson."

I gulped and nodded, my heart slowing. It had sped up when the older satyr, one from camp called Trister, had almost let Chiron's name slip.

Trister looked back at the rest of the class and continued, "As I was saying, these races could actually turn quite dangerous. Weapons were, of course, permitted. Some people would use spears and swords to cut at the opposing drivers..."

I tuned him out, deep in thought. What was going on at Olympus? I thought about the usual signs of conflict: strange things happening in the modern world. The news had recently said something about a disappearing actress, but I didn't think that that had anything to do with the gods. Something else had mentioned a recent oil spill off of the coast of Japan... but the gods normally didn't go that far west. I couldn't think of what would have caused that.

Then it hit me. Of course, the strange weather. For the past few weeks, we had been hammered by relentless rain and storms even though it was late spring. It was normally just light showers. This could only mean one thing: that Zeus was angry.

* * *

**Agh, really short chapter, I know. I promise next one will be longer. Again, you can remind me to write another chapter if I forget. Which I probably will. *looks sheepish***

**~Xein**


End file.
